Pope Francis To Have A Special Meeting With King Charles

Pope Francis is expected to meet with King Charles III during a state visit to the Vatican next month, indicating that the Holy See is hopeful the pope will return to work by then, if he recovers from double pneumonia.

One of the specifics of the British monarch’s journey to the Vatican was the tentative audience. The Vatican’s secretariat of state is always consulted closely when organizing state visits.

Separately, the palace attested to Charles’s private correspondence with the pope throughout his illness. Since February 14, Francis, 88, has been in the hospital.

The Vatican announced on Monday that it had stopped providing morning updates and was reducing the frequency of its medical bulletins, with only minor changes.

The trip to the Vatican represents an attempt to strengthen the bonds between the Church of England and the Catholic Church, which broke away from Rome in the 16th century under King Henry VIII.

Since taking the throne two and a half years ago, Charles, the head of the Church of England, has prioritized fostering understanding between people of different faiths.

Events in Italy and Rome, the capital city that encircles Vatican City, will be part of Charles’ three-day tour, which starts on April 7.

At a time when European countries are trying to increase support for Ukraine’s battle against Russian aggression, Charles will be in Rome to underline the close ties between Britain and Italy, two NATO members.

The Italian Air Force’s Frecce Tricolori, also known as the Tricolor Arrows, and their Royal Air Force equivalents, the Red Arrows, will do a joint flypast above Rome as part of the visit.

Meanwhile, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the area’s liberation from the Nazis by Allied forces on April 10, 1945, the King and Queen will attend a reception in Ravenna, in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna.

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In addition, the royals will visit with local farmers who have been impacted by the recent floods and highlight Emilia-Romagna cuisine.

Charles’ trip to the Vatican will include a historic first: the king, acting as the Church of England’s supreme governor, will visit the Papal Basilica of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls, a place that celebrates ecumenical relations and reconciliation among Christian faiths.

There will be performances by choirs from the Sistine Chapel, St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, and the King’s Chapel Royal.